(T) uConnect 6.5" Maps Update

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After a year my dealer has finally found out how to update the maps on a 6.5" unit. Good news you might say.

Not really, they want to charge me the best part of £200 for doing it.

The 5" and the 7" are free for three years, but apparently not the 6.5". I did point out that it would be cheaper to stick a TomTom or a Garmin to the screen with Lifetime Maps Updates but that didn't sway him. The best he could come up with was wait till March and there should be a new set of maps released, so you buy the latest edition.

An absolute rip-off by Fiat. Promote the higher spec unit then charge for updates.

We bought a new Alfa Romeo Giulietta last year.
Same issue with nav. updates, way to much expensive, so we drive around with 2014 (!) maps...
Update procedure very complicated as well, car has to idle for several hours during the expensive update..... )-:

The 5” ain’t free. I got the first map for free then had to pay for updates.

The Mopar Maps website says this:-

With Mopar Map Care, updates are free for three years from the vehicle warranty starting date. For Uconnect 5" Radio Nav and Uconnect 7" Radio Nav models not covered by the Mopar Map Care service, the update is free for use within 90 days from the first use of the navigator. The update costs for all other models not covered by the service are at the map provider's discretion. More detailed information is available in the personal area of the website.

The Mopar Map Care service is currently available for the following models:

With Mopar Map Care, updates are free for three years from the vehicle warranty starting date. For Uconnect 5" Radio Nav and Uconnect 7" Radio Nav models not covered by the Mopar Map Care service, the update is free for use within 90 days from the first use of the navigator. The update costs for all other models not covered by the service are at the map provider's discretion. More detailed information is available in the personal area of the website.

The Mopar Map Care service is currently available for the following models:

So yes it would seem that the 5" is chargeable on a 500X. Much confusion in the maps websites

Yup, it seems the only ones that ain’t included are the 500x and the spider.
The 5” one wouldn’t be that bad if it was reliable, but the app on my phone regularly logs out by itself, it is a pain trying having the phone app to connect to the car and the traffic updates are take an age to download.
In contrast, I have a dedicated Tomtom satnav that updates almost instantly on a 2G sim card built in.

It would be nice to not use the app and just have the car use the phone data connection to get updates. I would also like to see the TMC channel work for updates but I understand that is another can of worms altogether.

Yup, it seems the only ones that ain’t included are the 500x and the spider.
The 5” one wouldn’t be that bad if it was reliable, but the app on my phone regularly logs out by itself, it is a pain trying having the phone app to connect to the car and the traffic updates are take an age to download.
In contrast, I have a dedicated Tomtom satnav that updates almost instantly on a 2G sim card built in.

It would be nice to not use the app and just have the car use the phone data connection to get updates. I would also like to see the TMC channel work for updates but I understand that is another can of worms altogether.

I'm seriously considering getting the TomTom with Lifetime everything, in the long run it's way cheaper than 2 Mopar updates once a year.

The dealer asked me for examples of roads that had changed since 2015, when I quoted the roundabout on the A483 outside Chester (no longer there) and the M6/M1 interchange he had to admit that his uConnect had sent him the wrong way.

I'm seriously considering getting the TomTom with Lifetime everything, in the long run it's way cheaper than 2 Mopar updates once a year.

The dealer asked me for examples of roads that had changed since 2015, when I quoted the roundabout on the A483 outside Chester (no longer there) and the M6/M1 interchange he had to admit that his uConnect had sent him the wrong way.

It's one of the reasons I'd never buy a car with Sat Nav. You pay a premium for the option then get stung on the updates. WAY cheaper to buy your own unit and get free updates.

Had an Email from Fiat the other day with an offer on the TomTom map update for my uConnect 5".

£35.97 instead of £59.75.

That is for a full years 4 updates inclusive.

As I had not updated my maps since 2015 when I got my car I decided that I could just about stomach £36. I've also got a nice Garmin unit which has lifetime full European updates.

The uConnect Sat Nav is a good general purpose back/emergency use option but when travelling across Europe in a hurry we'll plan our route and campsites on the Garmin PC software an load that into the Garmin before setting off.

I just gor the latest update. I saw them ordering kit2018 from HERE.
After the update this is what the system says:
Softwareversion: 18.01.37
Naviserver: 9.10.32.697995
Mapdatabase: CMCVP4EU;V9
Database Version: CMCVP4EU; HMEU2016...

So I think I am gone from matps from 2014 to 2016.
I bought the car almost 3 years ago.

Same map update as Jeep, HERE who provide the maps for Fiat, Alfa, Jeep etc say release maps yearly but FCA groups don't want them. expect they have to pay for them. Lastest map database is Q4 2015, even on new release Europe 2018 maps.

I've now put it in hands of trading standards,don't expect nearly 4 year old maps on a nearly new car.

Suggested i buy new head unit with Apple carplay and Android auto, but want £1500 to do so.

It's truly appalling 'service'. After the 'offer' I got from my dealer to update my maps for approx £200 I bit the bullet and bought a 7" HD Garmin unit that sits comfortably on top of the dash courtesy of Garmin's magic mount. I get way more functionality, it uses HERE maps and I get 4 free map updates a year for the life of the unit. It cost me less than one dealer update of the uConnect system, free traffic updates and free speed cameras, and WAY less than a new head unit. I may have been tempted by the new 7" head unit but a) not at that price and b) I was told it wasn't listed as an accessory for the 500X. I've never had a car with a built in Nav before so I really don't mind having a superior (in my opinion) sat on top of it.

Suggested i buy new head unit with Apple carplay and Android auto, but want £1500 to do so.

Who suggested that? Your dealer? Because my dealer can't even say for sure that the new unit is going to fit into my existing system. If I had any kind of guarantee that I wouldn't be throwing the money to the wind, I might think about replacing the unit.

Meanwhile, I'm just using Waze on my phone and I'm very happy with it. The only downside is that my windshield is always occupied with a bulky phone holder.

Well this June we drove down to Italy and back. The uConnect map went out of date Dec 2018. Also had our up to date Garmin.

Both running and was interesting/amusing to hear the ladies arguing about some route decisions.

Both units have their good points. The real killer feature on the Garmin was the what's up ahead Fuel, Rest Area and Food sidebar. In the past fuel stop planning (especially as we tow to Italy and back) is pretty crucial. With the Garmin you get that next fuel in x miles and which side of the road. Then selecting it you get a list of all the next ones and you can select one which is then added to your route. Made the whole journey fuel stress free.

Though the map/road following was a little clearer on the uConnect.

For next year will look at getting the Garmin Magic Mount and also putting a more permanent 5V power feed in.

I the meantime one can only hope that Fiat change their policy on free map updates (fat chance)